SIDI Sport and Elia Viviani together for a great 2012

This week Elia Viviani made a much appreciated visit to the Sidi Sport headquarters in Maser (Treviso). Dino Signori was present to greet the young talent from Team Liquigas-Cannondale with a handshake as Elia was warmly welcomed by the entire Sidi staff, who are always happy to meet with their champions.

If 2011 was the breakout year for the young rider from Verona, 2012 is turning out to be a season of confirmation for his talent. Viviani’s season got off to an absolutely brilliant start, with 5 victories which at the moment make him the most victorious rider in the pack overall. Between January and February, after starting things off with his victory at the Tour de San Luis, one after the other he captured victories at the Gran Premio Costa degli Etruschi and two stage wins plus the lead in the general classification at the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria. Viviani was not only a star in the sprints but he’s become a genuine representative of Italian track cycling. Immediately after his visit to Sidi, which was an occasion to put the finishing touches on his Ergo 3 Carbons, Viviani caught up with the Italian national team to take off for London, where next weekend he’ll be busy in the last trial for the World Cup. It will be a sort of general test for Viviani and the Italian team as they prepare for the 2012 London Olympic games.

How does it feel to be the most victorious rider of the year?

“I’m very happy, but we’re only at the start of the season and there are still plenty of races left to go. I was hoping to start off well, but five wins were really a good start, better than anything we could have foreseen. I have to say that riding in Argentina helped me get into top form. The level of the race was extremely high; pedalling in South America gave me a good pedalling stroke that allowed me to express my full potential in these first sprints of the season.”

Road but also track in Viviani’s season…

“Yes, the track project is one that means a lot to me. The qualification for Olympics in the omnium is very close, we need only a few points and the last test in the World Cup in London will be important in obtaining this important goal. The work done on the road has given me an excellent base but perhaps at the moment on the track I’m lacking a few pedal strokes that I had in November when I participated in the World Cup in Astana. We’ll see… the tests we did recently on the track at Montichiari gave me some good signs. Anyway, this is not the last call for the Olympics because in reality there are also the World Championships where there are some important points in play for London. Of course, it would be better to go to Australia for the World Championships with the qualifier already tied down so we can concentrate 100% exclusively on the battle for the medals.”

Viviani, who from the road to the track can always count on his Ergo 3 Carbon shoes and on all the support from Sidi Sport.

“Definitely, I thank Sidi for the faith they’ve placed in me and I hope to continue repaying that faith by winning. With Ergo 3 Carbon I feel really great; for a rider his footwear is a fundamental asset, if you only consider the number of hours that I wear my shoes in a year between races and training with all weather conditions: cold, heat, rain… Shoes represent the point where an athlete joins with his bike and expresses his strength on the pedals through his feet. In addition to guaranteeing the best technical features available, my Ergo 3 Carbon are also attractive and appealing in terms of design. Once again this year Sidi gave our team a special Ergo 3 Carbon colour scheme and this is something that my team mates and I really appreciate. I also know that a limited edition of the Ergo 3 Carbon used by all of us on Liquigas-Cannondale will soon be released by Sidi for the general public; I think it’s really a nice initiative for our fans and for all two-wheeling enthusiasts.”